Departmental Bodies

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 March 2026

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Wednesday, 25 March 2026

Questions (457)

Barry Ward

Question:

457. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of employees in each of the agencies under his Department's remit at the end of December 2025, broken down by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22897/26]

Written answers

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

The table below sets out the number of public sector staff employed by aegis bodies under the remit of my Department as at the end of December 2025.

Name of Body	Staff No. (2025)
SOLAS	266
Higher Education Authority	131
Quality & Qualifications Ireland	84
Grangegorman Development Agency	35
Taighde Eireann	131

While both Skillnet Ireland and Léargas fall under the remit of my Department, neither of these bodies employ public sector staff.

As each body is responsible for the management of its own staffing complement, the Department does not maintain records of staff numbers disaggregated by grade for individual aegis bodies. Accordingly, I am unable to respond fully with respect to the breakdown requested. However, should the Deputy require further details, I have provided contact information for each body below to facilitate direct engagement.

Contact E-Mail Addresses for State Bodies under the Remit of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Name of Body	Dedicated Email address for the Members of the Oireachtas	Designated Official Responsible for assisting Oireachtas Members
Higher Education Authority	[e-mail]	Trevor Purtill [e-mail]
Grangegorman Development Agency	[e-mail]	Nigel Thompson [e-mail]
SOLAS	[e-mail]	Maria Walsh [e-mail]
Skillnet Ireland	[e-mail]	Tracey Donnery [e-mail]
Quality and Qualifications Ireland	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
Léargas – The Exchange Bureau	[e-mail]	Lorraine Gilligan - [e-mail]
Taighde Éireann – Research	[e-mail]	Donna McCabe

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